8 Bento #252 - Mom's Day Off Bento & Blog Hop

Today's bento lunch was packed by none other than Miss E and her daddy!  I didn't give them any guidance, they could just pack whatever they wanted. And here it is - a PB&J lunch and some yummy, unusual (for me, anyway) extras.

Bento #252 - Organic PB&J sandwich on wheat, Cheetos, organic carrots & dip and organic Gala apple.  Snack - Apple crusher and crackers.

And as I mentioned in the post title, it's a blog hop!  Click here to see what my bento-making mama friends are doing for Mom's Day Off, starting with Marie at Healthy Eating Starts at Home!

1 Bento #245 - Garlic Potatoes & Chicken Sausage

Another Trader Joe's lunch in an Easy Lunchbox.  This is their really delish garlic potatoes in Parmesan sauce and sauteed, sliced spicy Italian sausage.  I cook the potatoes in a skillet with a little olive oil until they are crispy on the outside.  Yum!

Accompanying the potatoes is half a sliced sweet red bell pepper and some blackberries.  Next to it is the day's snack which is an apple-carrot Crusher and organic mini peanut butter crackers.

Bento #245 - Garlic potatoes and Italian chicken sausage, blackberries, red bell pepper and Vidalia onion dressing.  Snack - Apple-carrot Crusher and peanut butter crackers.

7 Bento #232 - Stars & Pinwheels

Happy Friday!  Oh my gosh, craisins again??  This is the last for a while, I promise!  At least E isn't wholly sick of them yet.  These Colby cheese pinwheel roll ups are made with rolled out sliced bread.  They were falling apart a little, but they stayed together in their side of the box.  And salad!

The ubiquitous craisins in a star-shaped cup and yogurt stars!  The salad dressing is in the blue bear cup.

E and I made spiced apple muffins (Trader Joe's) with...craisins.  It's kind of a joke now, isn't it?

This is the bento box that I got from a Crocs store, totally perfect (it even came with the bow strap!)

Have a great weekend!

1 Bento #222 - Angry Birds, Reprised

I just like calling it Angry Birds because of the adorable piggy.  I seriously can't get enough of his rotund body.

Today Ella has camp with some of her best girlfriends from her previous school.  All I had to do was pack her lunch, since they're providing the snack. She was very specific in telling me what she wanted in her lunchbox.  PB&J shaped like a puzzle piece and Goldfish.  The angry, angry fowl were my contribution.  And the Lego lunch box, of course.

Also she wanted bell pepper with dip.  Thus, we have a rampart made of orange bell pepper with a naughty piggy full of ranch dip.  He is perched atop some juicy red grapes.

Bento #222 - Organic peanut butter and strawberry jelly on 12 grain toast, orange bell pepper, ranch dip, grapes and Goldfish.

2 Bento #221 - Angry Birds Gnocchi

This is my take on Angry Birds, a la bento.  First, we have our piggy antagonist.  He is amid some bell pepper debris, and he's seeing "stars". Okay...I don't think they actually see stars in the game, but they should, right?

Next, we have our protagonists.  The angry, angry birds.  The only fowl picks I have are ducks, so the hatching duck eggs must do.  They look pretty angry, no?  They are in some very delicious Trader Joe's gnocchi (frozen section) tossed with some extra parm.

Bento #221 - Gnocchi alla Sorrentina, red grapes, yellow bell pepper, dip and yogurt stars.  Snack - Banana muffin and garlic focaccia croutons.

P.S.  I'm very excited to have won a whole month of syndication at The Blog Entourage!

0 Bento #219 - Vegetarian Cheese & Crackers

Enter the Bon Ami Giveaway!

Me and my gimpy thumbs are back in bento business!  My poor kid had to buy her lunches all last week (thankfully they really aren't bad, and she will usually grab a salad anyway.)  I decided that I didn't want to pay a $50 copay for 5 seconds so that a nurse could remove my stitches, so I did it myself yesterday MacGuyver-style with a pair of new sterilized cuticle nail clippers.  One-handed, even!  Looks pretty good, but I'm still black and blue over my entire thumb.  

My last few lunches have been vegetarian, not wholly by design.  This bento also happens to be vegetarian.  She's got an assortment of fresh veggies and dip, along with some cheese cubes and saltines.

Dessert is sliced apples (NOT done with an apple slicer...in fact I bought these in one of those pre-cut packages...can you blame me?) and grapes.

We have a special snack of a bunch of yogurt star cookies and an apple sauce.

Bento #219 - Celery sticks, grape tomatoes, baby carrots, broccoli, ranch dip, cheese, saltine crackers, sliced apples, and grapes.  Snack - Yogurt Stars and applesauce.

0 Bento #218 - PB&J Rolls & Bell Pepper

Enter the Bon Ami Giveaway!

The PB&J roll that I made in the post the other day made it into this yummy bento lunch.  

Bento #218 - PB&J roll, yellow bell pepper, dip, fresh raspberries & an octopus mozzarella stick. Snack - Apple carrot Crusher and banana muffin.

1 Bento #211 - Mac n' Cheese & Watermelon

Ella wanted to have mac and cheese for dinner last night, but we ended up going out for burgers instead, so I made it for her lunch today.  It's her favourite TJ's white cheddar, to which I add some extra shredded cheese to make it extra good.  Lunch today also happens to be unwittingly vegetarian for Meatless Monday.

Fresh watermelon on skewers and those green beans she picked out the other day.  I just blanched them in some boiling salted water, and then dunked them in an ice bath.  I also included a bit of dip on the side.

Bento #211 - Macaroni & cheese, organic green beans, organic watermelon and dip.  Snack - Craisins and Goldfish crackers.

0 Bento #206 - Mac n' Apple Sausage

We have a Planetbox lunch today with Aidell's chicken & apple sausage and Trader Joe's organic white mac n' cheese.  Yummy!  The bell peppers didn't photograph too well, but they are cut in the shape of flowers.

Snack was an apple & banana crusher, (also from TJ's) which was completely new to us.  Also some organic baby carrots and dip.

Bento #206 - Chicken & apple sausage, organic white mac n' cheese, yellow bell peppers, dried blueberries and organic craisins.  Snack:  Organic baby carrots, dip and an apple banana Crusher.

4 Bento #205 - Orange Day Bento

This was E's lunch and snack for Orange Day in her Kindergarten class.  Lots of this bright, cheery hue going on here.

 Isn't this guy so adorable?

Bento #205 - Genoa salami & Colby cheese sandwich bites, organic baby carrots, organic orange slices, and dip.  Snack - Slushy applesauce and Goldfish crackers.

Also, if you haven't already done so would you mind visiting Parents.com and giving Bentobloggy your vote?  Thanks!

0 Bento #203 - Hello Kitty Onigiri & Thai Chicken Peanut Salad

My version of Thai peanut chicken salad was soooo good!  I made enough for lunches for all three of us.  I picked up some Amylu Caramelized Onion Chicken Burgers for the first time, and they are delicious!  They are all-natural, gluten-free and excellent.  I cubed a couple of patties and sauteed them in a bit of canola oil, along with some ginger-garlic paste, fish sauce, toasted sesame oil and a small handful of halved roasted peanuts.  In about 7 minutes I had a savory-sweet salad topping that everyone loved.  I had initially planned to do lettuce wraps, but I realized that all my lettuce was small-leaf variety.  This would be awesome on Boston/Bibb/Butter lettuce.

I also made a Hello Kitty onigiri of plain, cooked rice.  She is decorated with a few decorative sprinkles to liven up her appearance.  I also froze a container of vanilla yogurt, in lieu of the ice cream they allow the kids to have on Fridays.

Bento #203 - Thai chicken peanut salad over fresh artisan lettuce, rice onigiri, and frozen vanilla yogurt.  Snack - organic baby carrots, dip, multi-vitamins, and fresh raspberries.

4 Bento #200! First Day of Kindergarten Flower PB&J

Aaaand 200!  I asked Miss E what she wanted for her first day of Kindergarten lunch, and she was very specific.  She wanted PB&J, carrots, broccoli (which I don't have, so she settled for celery), dip, and an Aussie apple. This year parents are sending snacks every day, rather than depending on a class snack.  It works for me because I can control exactly what goes in her belly and make sure it's healthy.  She asked for a granola bite and a slushy applesauce (frozen applesauce which is slushy by the time lunch rolls around.)  Your wish is my command!

Bento #200 - Organic peanut butter and organic strawberry jam on 15 grain bread, organic carrots and organic celery, ranch dip, homemade granola bite, frozen apple sauce and an Aussie apple (not shown.)

So, what are you guys planning for your kiddos for the first day of school?